a cable(power/speaker/inter connector) is only worth what it will bring in the after market. example if a cable lists for $1000.00 and you can get a 25% disc costing you $750.00. then when you go to sell on audiogon and you can get $550.00-$750.00 back the cable was worth the price. if you payed $900.00 for the same cable and had to sell it for $450.00 or less, not a value in my mind. and the lower you most go the lower the ultimate value. so its not the price but the % of your original investment you can recover that determines the real $ value. so if you buy $8500.00 list spraker cables for $5700.00 and a few yrs of enjoyment or dislike later, and you can recover 80 to 100% of your money paid, well you did ok. obviously the closer to the 100% the beter. thats the way i see it anyway. you should research resale value first, then consider buying.
Cable Costs Relative to System
Since making a spread sheet with my audio system prices, I have been thinking(shocked) about my total investment in cables. My total system retails at $67,000 (Digital and analog front ends included). I purchased all of it here on Audiogon so my investment is about 50%. Of that I have about 10% invested in interconnects and cables and another 10% in Power Cables (Shunyata Hydra included). That's $13,000 worth of wire. I'm starting to question whether it might be more effective to put some of this budget into acitve components. It would take forever to listen to all possible combinations, but would like to hear others experiences with relatively high end systems and cable selection. It would seem to me that the point of diminishing returns would be reached sooner with cables than with speakers and amps. Do most of you follow the 10% "rule" for cabling? How do PCs fit into this rule? Are there any super bargain cables capable of keeping up with highly resolving electronics?
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- 329 posts total
- 329 posts total